What's A Little Rescue Between Friends
by NewObsession
Summary: My speculation of 2x14. Felicity wants to prove her worth in Team Arrow so she follows a lead on the Clock King. When things go awry, and Oliver is otherwise disposed, it's up to someone else to save the blonde – and he's not happy. Just a one shot - that ran away from me :)


**AN: **Seriously, what's with shows going on hiatus? I don't like waiting, hence this story was born. My imagination was left coming up with ways in which 2x14 will come to pass (probably nothing like the reality!) and just so you know, I know nothing about 2x14 other than the short synopsis that is out there – so don't crucify me if the plot is unrealistic, or characters are OOC.

**Disclaimer:** I take credit for these words (except if you've heard them somewhere else!) but I can't take credit for the characters or the big picture story.

**Spoilers:** I've seen up to 2x13 so be warned some earlier plotlines might be mentioned.

* * *

Felicity felt left out as she sat at her computers and could see Dig, Oliver and Sara casually sitting around on the training mats while they swapped war stories. It had been this way for the last couple of days – Felicity on the outside looking in, as the three survivors reminisced.

Rationally, she understood the bond that had been created between them and it's not like she didn't want there to be the camaraderie between them. They were her friends, and after hearing what happened with them (albeit only the tiny bit that they divulged) she couldn't deny them this one thing that she saw brought a smile to their face. But wanting this for them didn't stop the feeling of isolation she felt every time she saw them together and she was starting to dislike entering the lair, a place she had once rejoiced going to every day.

So when she got a hit on a potential location for the Clock King she realised this was her chance to prove herself to the Team. She was the only one that could go out and get them the information they needed so they could take down this criminal element terrorising Starling City. Not because the other members of the Team were incapable of such a task, but because they all had other plans for the evening. Dig had a date with Lyla, Roy had to work in the club, and Oliver was tagging along with Sara to the Lance family dinner that the Detective had organised. So really there was no one else, she justified.

Felicity though back to the last time she had ventured out by herself and gave a small shudder. Dig had been in no condition to go out and Oliver was at his mother's trial, so that only left her to be able to go and check out the immunisation truck. And she had walked straight into the Count's hands, leaving her in a precarious position and Oliver with a hard choice. Even though he had said there was no choice to make, Felicity couldn't help but feel guilty at her part in the events of that night.

There was no doubt in her mind that she never wanted to repeat that scenario, so she just had to be smarter about this. She had learnt from her mistakes from that night, and tonight was only going to be a simple recon mission. All she had to do was suss out the building from a safe distance, find out if she could see anything.

But still, she knew how the others would react to her plan. _She _knew that she wasn't putting herself in danger, but she doubted the others would see it that way. So Felicity waited until the other three had said their goodbyes and headed off to their evening plans, before she too got her things and headed out. Since her car was parked out the front of Verdant tonight, she made her way up the stairs and out the door that put her on the club floor. She quickly made her way through the growing crowds of people, oblivious to Roy who was standing at the bar and saw her leave.

* * *

Felicity felt her legs cramp up underneath her as she continued to watch the warehouse from the roof of a nearby building.

She had been pleasantly surprised when she found the door to the stairwell unlocked so she could easily make her way up the fire stairs to the vantage point of the roof. She hadn't been there long, but in that time there had been no movement. This wasn't unusual; the Clock King was probably out setting up his next bizarre form of hell. But her searches, and her instincts, told her that this was the right place and where the Clock King was holding his base. So she told herself that she would stay for another half an hour to wait for him to come back.

Felicity shifted her position to try and get more comfortable on the concrete floor since she knew she would be there for a while longer. As she did, she thought she heard movement behind her but before she could turn her head to investigate, she felt a dull thud on the back of her head and everything went black.

* * *

Dig sighed as he rushed back to Verdant. Oliver had given him the night off so he could spend it with Lyla. And he planned on doing just that, as soon as he made this detour and retrieved his wallet. He had left it in the lair in his rush to leave earlier.

As he descended the stairs, he was surprised to see all of the lights still on. No one was expected down here tonight, since the man himself wasn't going out under the hood. Cautiously, he made his way through the large space, looking around to see who was there. He didn't spot anyone but saw Felicity's computers were still on.

He breathed a sigh of relief. While everyone else in the Team had someone to go home to and/or spend time with outside of this job, he struggled to think of anyone in Felicity's life outside of the people that knew about Oliver. So of course she would choose to stay behind and work while the others made other plans for the night.

"Felicity?" He called out, not seeing her in the main room but assuming she was somewhere. There was no reply so Dig moved further into the lair, checking the back areas as he searched for her.

"Felicity?" he called again, but now knew she wasn't there as he came up empty. He simply shrugged, thinking that she may have gone out to get some fresh air. He rushed back to where her computers were, knowing that that's where he left his wallet. He was just leaving, when he caught sight of what was on the computers.

There was an address above a 3D map of that area, beside a picture of the Clock King. He immediately realised that Felicity had gotten a hit on the whereabouts of the Clock King and intuition told him that Felicity had gone to check out that address. He took a deep breath and told himself not to jump to conclusions. Felicity was the smartest person Dig knew, she wouldn't be so stupid to go out alone. Especially not after what happened with the Count, and then Oliver's reaction.

Dig called Felicity's phone, listening to it ring and willing her to pick up so that he knew where she was. But the phone rang out and went to voicemail. Ok, she didn't answer but that didn't mean she was in trouble. She could be at home in the shower and just not heard the phone. But then why would the computers be on? She was a stickler for allowing the computers to back up every night, so he knew she always turned them off when she left.

_It's fine_ Dig reasoned. She just didn't hear the phone. So he tried again. Again, the phone rang, and rang, and rang. But this time, the call was answered. Only it wasn't the voice he was expecting. It wasn't the well-known feminine tones of his team-mate, it was the recently learnt taunting masculine voice of their latest target.

"I'm sorry. She's a little… tied up at the moment." the Clock King laughed.

"If you hurt her…" Dig left the threat unspoken, but the tone of his voice indicated that he meant business.

"You'll what - kill me? I'm not afraid to die." the Clock King admitted.

"You should be." Dig snarled into the phone.

"And why would I be afraid of you?" the Clock King smirked.

"Because I know where you are, and I'm coming to make you pay!" Dig assured the man.

The Clock King scoffed, "You can't know where I am."

"We'll see." Dig said flatly as he hung up the phone and threw it across the room. Oliver was not going to be happy. Dig quickly picked up the phone that always sat next to Felicity, noting that his phone now lay smashed on the other side of the room. He dialled Oliver's number and waited for him to pick up. Only as soon as he heard the ringing in his ear, he heard a faint ringing near him. Looking over, he spotted the flashing screen of Oliver's phone.

Slamming down the receiver, he strode over to where Oliver's phone was sitting on the edge of the table. Picking it up, he scrolled through the contacts until he saw Sara's name and tried her. No answer. He put Oliver's phone down with a crash as he frantically looked around the room. Now what was he supposed to do? Felicity was in trouble and there was no doubt in his mind that someone had to go save her. And since he couldn't get a hold of the two usual vigilantes, he knew he had to do it himself. But he couldn't just stroll in there as himself; that would just put a target on his back as well. He spotted the Arrow outfit and started towards it. Could he wear the hood? He had done it before, sure, but that had always been with Oliver's knowledge and pretty much his idea in the first place. To use it now would be like stealing from Oliver since it was his secret identity. What right did Dig have to put it on? Dig shook his head at the thought. Oliver wouldn't be upset with him for being the Arrow if it meant he could save Felicity.

Without thinking about it any further, Dig grabbed the outfit and stuffed it into a duffle bag that was nearby, not wanting to waste time putting it all on now and merely carrying it out of the lair. When he had raced to Verdant to collect his wallet, he had parked haphazardly out the front since he had only planned on being there a minute, so he had to exit through the club. He didn't notice Roy who was behind the bar and had noticed his quick exit.

* * *

Felicity was terrified as she sat facing the Clock King who was pacing in front of her. She had woken not long ago to find herself with her hands and feet loosely tied to a chair. The restraints were loose enough so that they weren't hurting her, but not loose enough to allow her to get free, even with all the training she had been made to do with Dig. Thankfully he hadn't gagged her so there was no obstruction to her breathing, but she struggled to take in air normally since she was trying not to let the madman see her distress.

She was scared for a number of reasons. One – obviously – was that she had been taken and now sat imprisoned to this chair. She had no idea what the Clock King had planned for her, but she knew that whatever it was couldn't be good.

Two – no one had any idea where she was. Because she had feared their reactions, she hadn't told anyone of her plans. And there was no reason for them to go back to the foundry tonight and notice that she had had plans.

Three – the reason why none of the Team would be going back to the foundry tonight was because they were all busy doing something non-Arrow related. Which meant that no one would be looking for her; no one would even know that she was missing.

Felicity felt herself gasping for breath as these realisations crashed over her. She was doomed! The Clock King could do whatever he wanted and no one would be any the wiser.

Felicity was startled out of these thoughts as she heard the familiar ringtone echo in the empty space. Someone was calling her. Surely when she didn't answer whoever it was would realise that something was wrong. The Clock King went over to where she saw her purse lying, presumably where he had left it while he carried her over to the chair. However, he wasn't quick enough and the ringing stopped while he was still a few steps away.

Felicity smiled. _Yes, this is what she wanted_. But the smile slowly fell as the phone remained silent. Why weren't they ringing back? Surely you rang someone a number of times to see if they would answer. If the person just tried the once they might chalk up the non-answer to some other innocuous reason. They would have no idea that she was in trouble!

Felicity started to withdraw into hopelessness again, when the phone started ringing for a second time. This time, since he was closer, the Clock King managed to get to the phone before it stopped ringing. As he picked it up, he looked at the display.

"Blocked. Interesting." He mused as he answered the phone.

Felicity could only hear one side of the conversation. But from what the Clock King was saying, and his changing facial expressions, she could tell the person on the other hand was a) issuing a threat and b) was in the lair so they knew where she was.

"Uh oh." The Clock King sighed as he hung up the phone. "Someone's not happy." Felicity remained silent as the Clock King put her phone down and approached her.

"He thinks he knows where we are. I doubt it, but just in case let's speed things up shall we?" The Clock King grinned at her as he pulled a small folded knife from his pocket. Felicity swallowed hard.

On the one hand, she knew that he was wrong and whoever had called _did_ know where they were and were probably on their way to save her. But on the other hand, she didn't like the look of the short knife in the Clock King's hand and she was worried that whoever was coming, would not be fast enough.

Felicity's fear grew as she felt the cold tip of the knife on her shoulder.

"Such lovely skin." The Clock King muttered as he dragged the knife between her shoulder and elbow. "Such a shame to mar it."

Before Felicity could digest what he said, he cut into her soft flesh, drawing a ribbon of blood. Felicity gasped as she felt the pain of her skin opening as he sliced the knife down her arm. The Clock King paused as he stared mesmerised at the red liquid oozing out of the wound. He shook his head as if to clear it, and moved the knife to her other arm.

Felicity was prepared this time as she felt the knife enter her skin and slice it open, identical to the wound the Clock King had inflicted on the first arm. The Clock King noticed that the second injury hadn't elicited the same response as the first one.

"Ok, I'll try a new area then." He declared as he stabbed the knife down into Felicity's bare thigh since her skirt had ridden up when she was put into the chair. This caused a scream to erupt from her throat and the Clock King appeared satisfied, plunging the dripping knife into the other thigh, and was not disappointed when Felicity screamed again.

Felicity felt light headed as she felt the blood dripping out of her body. The Clock King must have known what he was doing since he didn't hit anything major which would have caused the blood to spurt out quickly. Since the blood loss was only gradual, Felicity had no hopes that she would soon lose consciousness.

Felicity closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain but they shot open when she felt the knife against her cheek.

"Such a shame." She heard him mutter again, but before the knife could cut her open an arrow flew over her head and imbedded itself into the wall behind them. Shocked, the Clock King stepped away and placed himself behind Felicity, using her as a shield against the new threat.

Dig didn't waste any time as he stepped into that warehouse and saw the state that Felicity was in. At first he had been relieved to see no tear tracks on her face, thinking it meant that she hadn't been hurt. But his relief disappeared when he noticed the long cuts, and blood on her skin. In seconds, he had raised the bow and let an arrow fly intending to get the Clock King away from her. But through his rage, he couldn't aim properly and the arrow had gone off course, leaving the Clock King not further from Felicity, but closer.

And now they were in a standoff. Dig stood on one side of the warehouse, the bow drawn up with an arrow already positioned just waiting for the moment that he could release it and take down the Clock King, while the Clock King had cut through Felicity's ties to pull her away from the chair and held her tightly against him and at knife point on the other side. Once again, Dig cursed Oliver. While Dig was a pretty decent shot, he knew that he didn't have the accuracy that Oliver did and he couldn't risk it with Felicity so close. The Clock King must have sensed Dig's hesitancy.

"That's right. Lower the bow." The Clock King requested as he squeezed Felicity a bit closer to him, causing the knife to make a small scratch on her cheek.

Felicity tensed as she watch Dig slump in defeat and did as he was asked, lowering the bow to his side. A sense of de ja vu rolled through her as she thought back to the night with the Count and Oliver also putting the bow down. But she knew this time it was different. Familiar with their outline, she knew that it was Dig across from her, not Oliver, and he didn't have the precision to pull off what Oliver had that night. This was not going to end well.

But no sooner had the depressing thought crossed her mind, the Clock King was pushed away from her. She looked over to see the Clock King on the ground, hands up to shield himself from the onslaught of Roy's punches.

Dig immediately jumped forward to grab Felicity and pulled her away from the fight.

"Are you ok?" Dig asked her, though he knew it was a stupid question. From afar, Dig had been worried about her injuries but up close they looked a lot worse as some blood was still dribbling out. Felicity nodded, but Dig grew more concerned as he felt Felicity lean against him to support her weight. He glanced over at Roy still pummelling the Clock King and since it didn't look like he needed to interfere anytime soon, he picked up Felicity and raced her to the car he had waiting out the back.

When he had her settled in the back seat and promised to be back shortly, he ran back into the warehouse. Roy was still at it, wildly throwing punches as the enhanced muscles in his arms flexed. When Dig saw that the Clock King wasn't moving, he knew that Roy had done enough damage and they could leave the rest for the police to deal with.

He lowered the hood as he stepped towards Roy, making sure to call out his name several times so the young man would expect him. Even with this precaution though, when Dig touched Roy's shoulder, the kid swung out blindly, narrowly missing a collision with Dig's stomach.

"John?" Roy was confused. When he had come into the warehouse and seen the Arrow, he had assumed it was Oliver.

"Come on kid. Tie him up for the city's finest, and let's get out of here."

* * *

Since Roy had run to the warehouse (super-strength had its benefits) he was able to drive Felicity's car back to Verdant, with Dig following behind him. Dig's continual glances at the blonde in the backseat told him that while the wounds had now stopped bleeding they still needed to be looked at, and he pressed the accelerator faster so he could get her help.

Dig came to an abrupt halt outside of Verdant. He had pulled in behind the club so they could enter the basement without the questions or strange looks when he carried in a wounded Felicity. Roy quickly followed them inside, shutting the door firmly behind him.

Dig swept the steel medical table clear and carefully lowered Felicity onto it. She immediately protested.

"Is this really necessary?" she whined, not only from the cold of the table but because she hated what the table represented.

"Yes. Now be a good girl and stay still." Dig ordered as he accepted the bottle of peroxide and some gauze from Roy. Felicity rolled her eyes at his bossy tone but thankfully kept her mouth shut as she did what he said so he could clean her up.

"This is going to sting." Dig said gently as he pressed the soaked pad to her arm to clean away the blood. Felicity winced, but felt relief as the cool liquid touched her skin, extinguishing the fire of the knife wounds.

The lair was silent as Dig continued his work on Felicity's wound. He was grateful for her choice in clothing today, the cap sleeved fitted silver dress leaving her arms and legs bare so that he could easily get to the cuts. After he finished cleaning her up, he held out a hand to Roy indicating for some butterfly bandages to close up the wounds. They weren't deep cuts so they didn't require stitches, but the bandages would help.

Just as Dig was placing the first bandage at the top of a wound, they heard the door at the top of the stairs open. The music from Verdant pulsed into the lair while the person made their way inside. But once the heavy door closed behind them, the sound was lost.

"Hello?" They heard Oliver call out as he made his way down the stairs. Felicity cringed as she imagined what his response to tonight's events would be, Dig cringed as he realised he had a hurt Felicity in front of him and her blood all over his hands, and Roy cringed because… well it was his girlfriend's big brother. He would never be happy to see Oliver. Either way, no one in that room was looking forward to the appearance of the Arrow.

Oliver made his way down the stairs, curious as to why the lights were on. So he called out as he entered. Not receiving a reply, he walked further until he came upon Felicity, Dig and Roy standing around the medical table. Oliver frowned as he couldn't work out why there were there. Wait, no Felicity wasn't _standing_ around the table. She was _sitting _on it.

"What happened?" Oliver immediately demanded as he approached the table and looked Felicity up and down. His eyes narrowed as he took in the sight before him.

"What happened?!" Oliver repeated as he realised the extent of Felicity's injuries. Noticing the long cuts up her arm, he stepped closer placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Nothing." Felicity replied annoyed, as she tried to shrug off his hand. But it was liking moving a brick wall and she realised that he would only remove it if he wanted to. Dig also seemed none too pleased as he continued his care of Felicity's wounds, not looking at Oliver as he stood guard next to Felicity.

"Don't tell me nothing Felicity." Oliver roared. "Clearly something happened!"

Felicity allowed Dig to put on the last of the butterfly bandages before she jumped off table and headed to the bathroom. Roy took one look at the two intimidating men and also left the charged atmosphere, claiming that he had work to do upstairs.

Oliver was dumbfounded as he watched Felicity walk away from him. He turned expectantly to Dig, waiting for an answer.

"Don't look at me, man." Dig replied with a shrug as he got up to put away the supplies. "I tried to call you."

"No you didn't." Oliver argued, searching his pockets for his phone, surprised when he came up empty.

"Yeah I did." Dig called over his shoulder, just as Oliver noticed his missing phone on the edge of the desk and went to grab it. His face fell as he saw the missed call from the basement's landline.

"Look I'm sorry I left my phone here." Oliver tried to explain.

"It's fine" Dig sighed, walking back to where Oliver stood.

"It clearly isn't fine." Oliver disagreed, thinking back on the sight of Felicity.

"No, it isn't." Dig agreed. "But you weren't here, so it was up to me and Roy to save her."

Oliver looked like he had been struck when Diggle confirmed that Felicity needed to be saved. Not that he hadn't realised it given her injuries. She obviously hadn't given them to herself.

"I would have been here had I known." Oliver reasoned.

"Really, how? You left your phone here Oliver!" Dig countered as he stood toe to toe with the man.

"Because I just wanted a night off from being the Arrow." Oliver explained, not backing away from the angry bodyguard.

"Well I hate to tell you man, but that just simply doesn't happen." Dig shook his head at Oliver's naivety. "You're always the Arrow whether you like it or not."

Oliver seethed quietly. He didn't like this being pointed out to him, but he knew that Dig wasn't wrong.

"She needed you tonight, where were you?" Dig still had his voice raised and he pointed to the bathroom to indicate who he was talking about, not that Oliver needed to be told.

"Does it matter?" Oliver was exasperated and ran a hand over his face, finally taking a step back from the confrontation.

"Yeah, actually it does." Felicity answered as she exited the bathroom, now on steady feet that her injuries has been taken care of.

Dig immediately made his way to where Felicity stood and helped her to the nearby couch, ignoring Oliver as they went. Dig helped her lay down so she was in a comfortable position.

"Are you ok?" Dig asked for what he felt was the hundredth time since this all happened.

"I'm ok, just tired. I suppose getting cut open will do that to a person." Felicity gave a small smile, trying to ease the tension in the room. Dig and Oliver were not amused though and the stony expressions remained on their faces.

"Felicity, this isn't a joke. You lost a fair amount of blood and your body has been through a lot tonight. I have no doubt that you'll be fine, but you have to take it easy and rest. You're not going anywhere for a while. Do you want me to stick around so I can drive you home later?" Dig asked her as he stood by her head.

"No, no. I'll need my car tomorrow so I can just drive myself."

"I'm sure I can manage to get your car back to your apartment." Dig smiled.

"I'm sure you can too." Felicity nodded. "But it's just easier if I drive myself home, that way I know where my baby is."

"Fine. But don't say I didn't offer."

Felicity gave Dig a smile and grabbed his hand.

"Thanks." She said simply, squeezing to show her appreciation.

"Of course. Are you going to be okay here?" Dig motioned to the silent Oliver across the room with his head.

"I'll be fine. I think the Arrow is going to make an appearance but it's nothing I can't handle." Felicity explained in a stage whisper, knowing full well that Oliver could hear her.

Dig smiled at her antics and took his leave. Oliver stayed where he was even after Dig had left, staring at Felicity laying on the couch, his arms folded in front of him.

"So, do you want to tell me where you were while I was bleeding out?" Felicity asked him innocently as she finally acknowledged him. Felicity watched as Oliver looked away, guilt written all over his face.

"Oh. Sara. Again." Felicity nodded.

"It wasn't like that." Oliver immediately defended himself. "And again?"

"What you didn't think I would find out about your late night activities? They aren't just for show you know." Felicity pointed out the multiple security cameras around the basement.

"I'm sorry." Oliver looked contrite as he made his way over to the couch, lifting Felicity's legs so he could sit, putting them down on his thighs.

"For what? Oliver, you and Sara are adults. You can do what you want. Deep down I knew it was bound to happen."

"Knowing something, and seeing something, are two different things. You shouldn't have had to see it."

Felicity shrugged. "It's nothing I haven't seen before." Oliver smirked and Felicity turned red and quickly continued on.

"Not that I've ever seen you having sex, but I've imagined it. Well that doesn't sound any better. But you know you do walk around here without a shirt on. A lot actually, and a girl wonders."

Oliver chuckled. "Glad to see you're feeling better." He commented, patting her leg and thankfully not commenting on Felicity's candid ramble. "But you're not allowed out in the field ever again."

And there it was. Oliver had given the order in his no-nonsense, Arrow voice. Felicity glared at him.

"What happened to 'my life, my choice'?"

"Maybe when you start being smarter about your choices, I'll reconsider." Oliver growled.

"_You'll _reconsider?! I make my own decisions Oliver." Felicity tried to pull her legs away but Oliver held them firmly.

"And I can see how well those decisions are working out for you." He indicated her recent wounds, and she knew he was also referring to the other small scars she had gotten from going out in the field before.

"It happens." Felicity shrugged. "You and Dig have also had some pretty bad nights out in the field. You don't see me banning you from going out."

"Dig and I are different." Oliver argued. "We can handle it."

"Oh so now I can't _handle _it?" Felicity scoffed, avoiding his gaze.

"_I _can't handle it." Oliver yelled as he pulled Felicity's face towards him so she was forced to look in his eyes. Felicity swallowed hard as she watched the emotions run through Oliver's eyes.

"You can't go out in the field, because I don't think I would survive if something happened to you."

"I get it, I do." Felicity said softly, putting her hand over Oliver's which was still on her face. "But don't you think I go through the exact same feelings every time you step out that door? It's a part of what we do."

"No it's a part of what _I _do. And you know I can't do all of this without you. But I don't need anything from you that you can't do from the safety of this room."

"Trust me Oliver. I won't be rushing to do any more field work in the near future. But I would like to know that I can and you're not going to go all growl-y on me if I suggest it."

"Growl-y?" Oliver asked amused.

"That really deep voice you get, the one that could give your voice modulator a run for it's money." Felicity explained. "Like this." Felicity dropped her voice in a poor imitation of the Arrow voice.

"Cute." Oliver rolled his eyes at her antics. "Ok, well I'm glad to hear that you don't plan on going into the field any time soon, we can re-visit the idea later if it ever comes up."

"At which point, you will say no again right?"

"Probably." Oliver agreed. Felicity groaned but decided to let it go. For now.


End file.
